Cable assemblies of the type having ribbon or flat cable generally take the form shown in FIG. 1. There, a ribbon cable assembly 10 is shown including a length of ribbon cable 12 consisting of a number of insulated conductors arranged side by side, a receptacle connector 14 terminated at one end, a plug connector 16 terminated at the other end, and another plug connector 18 terminated at a position intermediate the other two connectors. The connectors 14, 16, and 18 are of the type having insulation displacement contacts arranged on 0.025 inch centers, and the conductors of the ribbon cable are also arranged on 0.025 inch centers. While the cable assembly 10, in the present example, has one receptacle connector and two plug connectors, the actual number of each type of connector and the distances between them will vary depending upon the application. The accurate alignment of the ribbon cable to the insulation displacement contacts prior to the actual termination operation is critical. This is usually accomplished by means of a tool such as the tool 20 shown in FIG. 2. The tool 20 consists of a block 22 having an adjustable cavity or nest 24 sized and shaped to closely receive the connector to be terminated. The plug connectors 16 and 18 require one block with a conforming nest 24 and the receptacle connector 14 requires another block with a different conforming nest. The upper surface 26 includes a series of side by side flutes 28 that run the length of the upper surface and are space to conform to the spacing of the conductors of the ribbon cable 12. The flutes 28 are arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis 30 of the nest 24. A pair of clamping bars 32 are hingedly attached to the block 22 at the points 34 and have latches 36 that latchingly engage catches 38 to hold a ribbon cable 12 tightly against the flutes 28. When the connector is in position within the nest and a ribbon cable is properly clamped against the flutes, the nest is adjustable and is moved to align the cable and connector for each conductor of the cable to be in alignment with a respective one of the insulation displacement contacts of the connector. When making the cable assembly 10, shown in FIG. 1, after terminating the connector 16, the clamping bars 32 must be released and the cable 12 repositioned in the flutes and the clamping bars again latched in clamping position for terminating the connector 18. Additionally, the cable 12 must be clamped in a different tool for terminating the connector 14. This procedure is time consuming and is prone to the commission of inadvertent errors by the operator, such as misalignment of the cable 12 within the flutes 28 and then tightening the clamping bars 32, thereby producing a defective termination and perhaps damaging the delicate ribbon cable.
What is needed is a relatively low cost single tool that can be used to align the cable 12 for terminating both plug and receptacle connectors on the ends of the cable as well as intermediately spaced connectors without removing the cable from the tool and without loosening the clamping bars until all desired connectors are terminated to the cable and the cable assembly is completed.